The dawn of the information age has revealed new and exciting opportunities for computer processing capabilities. Personal computers have been deployed in a variety of arenas to gain efficiencies, reduce cost, and increase productivity. Miniaturization and portability have made personal computers more accessible and a more valued tool in many business environments. Personal computers have also become a very useful tool in non-business environments, including educational institutions and homes.
Home computer networks are gaining increased popularity. Within a home, multiple personal computers can be connected together to permit a user to share files without having to carry a physical copy of the media from room to room. The computer network also permits the users to share printers, fax machines, and other devices. Internet access facilities can also be provided to permit access to external networks and services. Thus, a user can operation a home computer to gain instant access to information from virtually anywhere in the world.
Within the past few years, the “home computer network” has begun to evolve into more generally a “home network”, where the personal computer(s) are also connected to various other home appliances/devices, such as a security system, messaging system, heating/lighting, and the like. Using such a “home network”, it is now possible to allow a first home device control and/or communicate with various other home devices. In a preferred arrangement, it is desirable to allow for a remote user/home owner to contact and control various home devices. In most home networks, a “home server” is used to facilitate this type of remote communication. The home server may receive a remote command from the home owner via a telephone line between the home and a network (such as the Internet or the public-switched telephone network—PSTN). Some of the home servers may have a display connected thereto illustrating the “state” of the various devices under control, allowing the home owner to glance at the server (when he is home) and assess the status of the home devices. However, the remote aspects of this prior art type of home server are rather limited.
Recently, systems have appeared in motor vehicles that allow an occupant of a vehicle to initiate commands that are transmitted to the occupant's home to activate devices that are networked together in the home. For example, one system integrates a virtual advisor service to provide an interface for the occupant to control systems within the home, such as lighting, climate, and home security systems. The interface uses a personal calling service with voice recognition technology. Such systems, however, rely on a third party as an intermediary to receive the occupant's requests and transfer the requests to the home network.
Certain other prior art systems utilize multiple push buttons in a vehicle to control networked home devices. In such systems, each button is dedicated to a specific command. Other systems implement touch screens in a display to initiate commands. All of these approaches, however, distract a driver since the driver has to locate the appropriate button in the vehicle or has to scroll through multiple screens in the display to issue the commands.
While some of these latter systems represent an advance in the state of the art, the limitations in terms of vehicular use and need for a third party intermediary need to be addressed in order for home monitoring and control to become a more commonplace aspect of today's communication capabilities.